The present invention relates to electrical connectors of the type comprising an insulating housing formed with mutually parallel passages for receiving electrical terminals, and a retention plate insertable in the housing up to a forward position in which it is retained, the plate being formed with terminal-receiving holes that are distributed in an array corresponding to the array of the passages and that are extended forwardly by resilient fingers for retaining terminals by snap-fastening, the fingers having a shape complementary to the shape of the passages so as to enable them to penetrate into the passages and be retained therein in the position where they hold the terminals when the retaining plate is in its front position. A description of a connector of this kind can be found in FR-A-2626720.
Connectors of the above type are in very wide use, either with rectangular housings containing terminals distributed in a rectangular array or in a quincunx array, or with so-called "round" housings. Such connectors may be relatively simple in structure and they make high terminal distribution densities possible.
However, present connectors of the above type suffer from drawbacks. Either the retention plate retains the terminals in one direction only (retention in the opposite direction being provided by separate means), or else retention is only by the resilient fingers. The first solution makes implementation more complicated. The second makes it difficult to retain the terminals securely in an accurate longitudinal position.